Almost a century later, the classic Bentley Speed Six is set to be delivered to the USA. John Breslow – an existing Mulliner customer and Bentley Blower Continuation Series owner – had commissioned the Speed Six over 12 months ago. Following its completion, this marks the first Speed Six delivery after 94 years since 1930.
The skilled team of technicians and artisans at Mulliner had closely collaborated with network specialist suppliers across the UK in order to perfectly replicate the original Speed Six. Every car takes 8 months to build by hand to ensure peak authenticity. This first Speed Six Continuation Series in particular is painted with a splendid coat of Parsons Napier Green over a black-painted chassis. The face of the vehicle flaunts two round headlamps, with a large number ‘4’ placed between the two on the radiator.
Reflecting the authenticity of the exterior is the cockpit, with every detail and specifications matching the original 1930 Le Mans-winning Speed Sixes. The deep brown leather interior with dominant red accents, along with the Rust leather and carpet perfectly complement the Parsons Napier Green exterior.
To ensure accuracy, the Mulliner Classic team closely studied the five authentic period Parsons Paints at the National Motor Museum in BeauLieu, Hampshire. The team created over 600 new parts along with a new engine block casting, to build a new 6½ Litre race spec engine with initially 200 bhp. Dyno testing has presented that it can achieve 205 bhp. Though with modern technology a higher output is indeed achievable, the main goal of the Continuation Series is to recreate the Bentley as accurately as possible, from how it looked to how it performed in 1930.
The Speed Six is said to be Bentley’s most successful racing car and one of the most important Bentleys in history. Mulliner, Bentley’s bespoke and coachbuilding division, is building new Speed Six cars using the same process as the original car from the late 1920s, as part of its second pre-war Continuation Series.
The first pre-war Continuation Series was for the Bentley Blower. It has been built by hand using both modern laserscanned data as well as original drawings – taken from the 1929 4½-litre supercharged Team Car #2, a huge icon of the Bentley Heritage Collection and regarded as the most well-known Bentley in the world.
The Bentley Blower is famous for pushing its competitor – the Mercedes-Benz – to its limits in the Le Man 24-hour in 1930. The car boasts speed at the cost of reliability, which is the opposite of the Speed Six which was renowned for its dependability.
To commemorate Bentley’s first Le Mans win in 1924, a 24-hour endurance race was hosted at the Algarve circuit of Portimão by the Benjafield Racing Club. 25 period Bentleys driven by 87 club members were present at the event – including one Blower Continuation Series customer car added into the event by its owner. The car made history by becoming the first factory-built Blower to complete a 24-hour race, showcasing the high quality of the world’s first pre-war continuation series.
